The Weekly Cut: April 9, 2026
Hi all, Find below a quick snapshot of some of the most relevant media and publishing stories this week. Catchy articulation of the creator push from publishers - "Fandoms, Not Randoms" - courtesy of Puck. The Hypothesis is that the next wave of media deals will be centered not on undifferentiated scale - anchorless impressions, page views - but around fandom, with publishers racing to acquire or partner with creators who already command devoted, high trust, differentiated auddiences. They argue this logic sits behind recent moves: Fox's Red Seat (Tucker/O'Reilly/Kelly), ESPN's Pat McAfee deal, MSNBC's Pod Save arrangement, OpenAI's acquisition of TBPN. [The Rebooting], [Puck]
AI in Media
OpenAI acquires TBPN for reported "low hundreds of millions" in first media acquisition.
OpenAI acquired TBPN, the Silicon Valley daily livestream co-hosted by ex-founders John Coogan and Jordi Hays, announced April 2. TBPN generated ~$5M in advertising revenue in its first year and is on track for $30M+ in 2026. Its editorial advertising operation is being shut down; TBPN will now report to OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane, who pledged contractual editorial independence. OpenAI's rationale is explicitly about shaping AI sentiment in markets outside Silicon Valley, where public opinion has shifted negative. Question: will the acquisition diminish TBPN's credibility and open up an opportunity for a competitor in the space?.
Source: WSJ
Axios pushing AI-assisted local news expansion across smaller markets (<100K fewer residents).
Axios Local executive editor Holly Moore outlined a model in which one reporter, supported by centralized editing and AI tools, covers markets of 100,000 or fewer residents. AI handles transcription of public meetings, automated localization of national data stories, and copy editing via an internal tool called the "Axiomizer." The human editorial sign-off principle holds: "Don't let anything get out there that hasn't gone through a person" (Moore). If time is freed up from the increased productivity, the aim is to grow the local reporters role to include audio, video, and community relationship management. Axios is currently in 35 markets.
Source: Simon Owens
Media & Publishing
Politico: Döpfner mandates video-first strategy and global integration under Greenberger.
Greenberger has been given a mandate and budget to develop journalists into "camera-ready multiplatform stars," with the Dasha Burns hire (former NBC News correspondent, now Playbook host and YouTube anchor) cited as the template. His immediate tasks: identifying a new Playbook anchor and building out Politico's video talent roster. On global strategy, Döpfner envisions an integrated Politico with a presence in every democratic capital with lobbyists - driving advocacy advertising, then upselling audiences to expensive Pro subscriptions. Politico's Brussels, London, Sacramento, Albany, and Brisbane operations currently function as editorial silos; Greenberger's mandate includes formalizing their integration.
Source: Puck
Soros Fund Management leads investment round in MeidasTouch Network.
Soros Fund Management led an undisclosed investment round in MeidasTouch Network, the progressive digital media brand that claims 300M+ monthly YouTube views. Additional strategic investors described as U.S.-based and interested in progressive politics participated; terms not disclosed. Capital will fund creator and journalist hiring, international expansion, and potential acquisitions of independent outlets.
Source: Bloomberg
Cafeyn acquires Readly; Bonnier takes Readly's Nordic operations.
Cafeyn, Europe's largest digital magazine aggregation platform, acquired rival platform Readly. The combined group will serve 2.5M European users with access to 5,200 titles from 1,100 publishers. Readly's Nordic operations were separately acquired by Bonnier News.
Source: Press Gazette
MS NOW expands local and investigative coverage through nonprofit partnerships.
MS NOW announced partnerships with The Marshall Project, States Newsroom, and the Pulitzer Center to strengthen local, statehouse, immigration, and investigative reporting. The move appears aimed at helping define and differentiate the network post-NBC, while also rebuilding reporting depth and infrastructure in a more cost-effective way.
Source: Poynter
Platforms & Distribution
NiemanLab analysis indicates X suppresing outbound links from news publishers.
Nieman Lab reported (April 8) research indicating X's algorithm significantly depresses engagement on posts containing outbound links from news publishers - even for accounts with tens of millions of followers. @nytimes (53M followers) sees engagement on link posts dwarfed by engagement on native content. For non-Premium accounts, link posts generate near-zero median engagement. The suppression is systematic rather than incidental, with material implications for publishers' referral traffic from the platform.
Source: Nieman Lab
LinkedIn explored acquisition of Beehiiv newsletter platform.
Semafor reported (April 6) that LinkedIn held discussions about a potential acquisition of Beehiiv (140,000 newsletters, $28M revenue in 2025, Q1 2026 its strongest quarter to date). Neither company commented; no deal has been confirmed or announced. A LinkedIn acquisition would give Microsoft-owned LinkedIn major newsletter infrastructure and creator monetization tools, and would represent a competitive move against Substack and independent creator platforms.
Business of Sports
Simpson Thacher adds three partners in sports dealmaking push.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett hired three partners to expand its sports M&A practice: Michael Kuh and Eric Geffner joined as co-heads of the firm's sports group within its sports, media, and entertainment practice; Matthew Carpenter-Dennis, previously overseeing team ownership transactions at the NBA, joined as a third partner. The hires reflect intensifying competition among major law firms to capture a growing pipeline of sports franchise and media rights transactions.
Source: Bloomberg
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